Basketball Season Opens. DePaul Prep Defeats Niles North, Lane Handles Phillips

Great start to the 24-25 high school basketball season with the opening games of the Battle of Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament at DePaul Prep.

DePaul Prep 69, Niles North 63.

The DePaul Prep come into the season ranked #3 in the Sun-Times Super 25. Several other analysts have the Rams ranked #1 but it’s a pre-season ranking that matters little. Frankly, who wants to be ranked #1 in pre-season. One can only go down from there. No one disputes the Rams are a top team. Back-to-back state champs with three returning starters and a top transfer, the Rams will win a lot of games.

The Rams came out in a four guard line-up against Niles North on Monday. Center Lashaun “Shaun” Porter, guards, Makai Kvamme, A.J. Chambers, Rob Walls and new-comer Rykan Woo, the aforementioned top transfer from Whitney Young. This is a bit of a change from Tom Kleinshmidt’s typical two bigman, wing and two guard line-up but not much of a change. There have been plenty of times when the Rams played four guards at a time. And Rob Walls was grabbing boards like Dennis Rodman on Monday, so it’s not like the Rams surrender the paint.

Frankly, the Rams struggled a little in the first quarter to get the ball to fall. Usually, the Rams grab an early lead and hold it until the half. It was a little different Monday. They trailed in the first and rallied in the second quarter.

It was the third quarter where the Rams turned the game. They outscored Niles North 10-2 in the first half of the third quarter. They grabbed the lead and held it.

In typical fashion of a Kleinschmidt team, the Rams got a second half lead and held it with excellent ball handling and clutch free throw shooting.

By no means was it easy. Niles North head coach Glenn Olson, his family and the rest of his Vikings play basketball like it’s life or death. I have seen them play many time in recent years. It feels more like a boxing match than a basketball game. One feels lucky to be upright when it’s over. I get tired just watching.

The Vikings are especially good this year, ranked #10. Glenn Olson’s son Reid is the point guard. He is tougher than this father and a great shooter. Senior forward Hunter Gawron is a force and a high regarding player in the area. Let’s not forget senior guard Dylan Lam who poured in twelve points.

The should feel glad just have the win, and that the game is over. It was a nice win and a good preview of what is in store for us this season.

One of the DePaul Prep students was wearing a Tom Kleinschmidt Gordon Tech #34 jersey. How cool is that? It should be in a museum someplace. Next time I see him I will have to tell him to leave it to the school or to the Chicago History Museum in his will.

Lane 70, Phillips 54.

Lane played angry, especially Penn commit senior center Dalton Scantlebury, and handled Phillips in the first game of the tournament.

I didn’t hear Scantlebury say “Gimme the damn ball” but that’s how he played. 23 points and no doubt that he is serious.

And it wasn’t just him. Senior forward Zach Mazanowski had a monster duck that was picturesque to write the least. Even with the graduation of Shaheed Solebo, the Champions may well be better than last year. Stay tuned for that.

Great start to the season.

And great to see college basketball star Raheem Anthony in the Tom Winiecki Gym. For those who may not recall Raheem was the engine of the DePaul Prep’s first state finals run in 2019. That team had other top players, like Perry Cowen, TY Johnson and Pavle Pantovic, but Raheem was the key—at least according to me.

But, best of all, new lights in the Tom Winiecki Gym. White light and lots of it. I have had my setting dialed in for some years in that gym but now I have to redo it all. I boosted the shutter speed, probably a little to high, resulting in a high ISO. I am going to dial it back a little. The photos came out a too grainy even with the AI processing. Give me a few tries and I will have it dialed in. Kind of like the Rams and their new four guard offense.

I hope you like the photos.

DePaul Prep Wins Battle of the Bridge Tournament with 67-50 Victory over Niles North

Defending 2A State Champions, the DePaul Prep Rams (4-0, 0-0) defeated the Niles North Vikings 67-50 in the championship game of the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving tournament at DePaul Prep Friday night.

The frustration on the face of Niles North coach Glenn Olson was palpable. His Vikings were close, but the DePaul Prep Rams were just too solid in every phase. Niles North has suffered four loses to DePaul Prep in the Battle of Bridge championship game dating back to 2016 and one in a semi-final.

A quick 6-0 lead for the Rams to open the first quarter was part of the formula for a Tom Kleinschmidt victory. Get lead in the first quarter, survive the inevitable bounce back, build the lead in the third quarter, handle the ball and make free throws to win. It was a textbook Tom Kleinschmidt win—even if it didn’t feel very safe and any point until the end.

The Rams can execute in every phase and did on Friday. They can run and score in transition. They can the drive the lane, taking it to the rim or hitting the floater. Rams’ junior guard Makai Kvamme has stepped up his game on the point taking over where graduated senior Maurice Thomas left off.

Senior guard PJ Chambers was scoring inside and out, leading all scorers with 20 points, even with being occasionally spelled by his little brother AJ Chambers. And we are not even talking about Jaylan McElroy yet. The big man got in a little foul trouble and spent the second quarter on the bench. No worries. Sophomore forward LaShawn Porter filled right in. Jaylan dominated the boards throughout and was money with the key free throws in the fourth quarter. Junior Jonas Johnson hit a three on the Rams 15-2 run late in the second quarter and some free throws at the end.

This year’s Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving tournament was one of the early season’s marquis events featuring two ranked teams, #13 DePaul Prep and #20 Lane Tech. Niles North is right there too. In fact, the Vikings were singled out by Joe Henricksen of the City Suburban Hoops Report as a team likely to break into the Super 25.

“How many teams have the opportunity to play two ranked teams in two road games at a Thanksgiving tournament?” Olson said after the Lane game.

The other teams were Lane, Notre Dame, Englewood Stem, Francis Parker, Jones and Prosser.

The Lane Tech v. Niles North game played on Wednesday also a marquis matchup of excellent teams. A packed and noisy gym at Lane saw the Champions edged by the Vikings 63-61. Match up featured two top players in the area: Lane’s Shaheed Solebo and Niles North’s Yaris Irby.  

“The close of the second half was one of the best that I have seen. We wanted to spread them to get some fouls,” said Rams coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

The fourth quarter Rams defense particularly on Niles North star player Yaris Irby who had only two points just closed out the game.

“The constant pressure and switching [players to cover Irby] was part of it. We don’t put one guy on one guy where they both get tired. We kind of share the load. And I think that kind of help us in second halves. Everybody can guard whoever. They have to guard whoever. It keeps us fresh at the end of the game.

“That was fun and nerve-racking. I was never comfortable and never am.”

The Rams open Chicago Catholic League play on Thursday at St. Rita. The Rams then make their first appearance in the Chicago Elite Classic with a game on Friday, December 1, 2023, against neighbor Lane Tech at UIC’s Credit 1 Arena.

Niles North Edges Lane Tech 63-61 at the Battle of the Bridge.

This was a game. The ranked against the should be ranked. Lane came into the game ranked at #20 in the Sun-Times Super 25. Niles North is ranked but the topic of discussion in the “No Shot Clock'“ podcast this week was that they will be. Maybe sooner rather than later.

Niles North junior guard Yaris Irby was a revelation. He was every bit as impactful as Lane’s D1 prospect senior guard Shaheed Solebo.

Niles North came out doing what they wanted to do. They played up tempo and scored in transition. Lane’s length gave the Vikings fits. No problem; they just had Irby and Reid Olson pour in some threes and you’ve got a ten lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

“And we were playing the pace we wanted to play at. Playing fast. We were getting up and down. That was in our favor. The game slowed down in that second quarter,” Niles North coach Glenn Olson said after the game.

Yes it did. If there is anything Lane’s head coach can to it’s fire up his Champions. It was like the Champions turned up the speed and intensity 100%. No more full court offense for rhe Vikings, The Champions used there inside size and seemed to score helped by a couple threes from Dylan Pepper and one from Shaheed Solebo.

The second half was back and forth battle. Very even half with two excellent teams. Niles North had just a little bit more.

Vikings 63, Champions 61.

DePaul Prep Defeats Notre Dame 35-25

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Notre Dame Dons 35-25 in the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament semi-final. It was the first test of the new young Rams. It turned out to be a test of the Dons.

The game started slowly . . . really slowly. The Dons moved the ball around well but didn’t shoot the ball. When they did shoot, they weren’t good shots. And they got no second chances.

The Rams weren’t much better. They moved the ball around well enough and got some shots up. Most did not fall. And they got no second chances either.

It was Rams 4, Dons 0 at the end of the first quarter. I don’t remember such a score in a game with two solid teams. At least not since my days coaching the 5th grade St. Benedict Bengals.

The Rams and their senior guard and playmaker Maurice Thomas started scoring in the second quarter. The Don’s finally scored with 2:21 left in the half when sophomore forward Brady Sanhorst drained a long three. 15-3 Rams at the half.

It was a pretty normal second half. Both teams were running the floor and scoring. But the damage to Notre Dame was done. Only on the rarest of occasions does a Tom Kleinschmidt team give up a large lead. Tonight was not such an occasion.

Final—Rams 35, Dons 25.

Kevin Clancy and his Dons will be better than they showed tonight. I wrote on Instagram yesterday that it’s a strange new basketball world that we find ourselves in. Tonight produced more evidence supporting such a conclusion.

DePaul Prep will face Niles North in the Battle of the Bridge championship game against Niles North at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

As for the photos, I am not publishing as many as I have in the past. I used a new camera setup. A Canon 5D Mark IV with a 50mm, f1.8, prime lens at a lower ISO than normal in addition to my regular camera. I just wanted to see what I could get with that setup. I came up with bigger, richer files but the photos are not particularly good. A 50mm lens at a basketball game is pretty useless.

I got a great shot of Johnny “Mas” Maciaszkiewicz, DePaul Prep’s legendary scorekeeper.

It was great to see Paul Chabura and Shay Boyle. Just two great men. I just think the world of both of them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I know I have a great deal to be thankful for this year.

DePaul Prep Wins Opener Over Urban Prep--Bronzeville 74-32

The DePaul Prep Rams opened the 2019-2020 season this evening at the Tom Winicki Gym with a 74-32 victory over the Urban Prep—Bronzeville Lions.

The Rams struggled early in the first quarter but quickly started running the floor after Bronzeville turnovers ending in some easy layups for Ty Johnson. Lance Mosley added 4 three-pointers in the second quarter. DePaul Prep had a 41-21 lead at the half.

In the second half, DePaul coach Tom Kleinschmidt went deep into his bench. The Rams widened the lead holding the Lions to eleven points in the second half. The game finished with a 74-32 final score.

As I wrote in a tweet this morning, 111 days until the state championships. I never realized how short the season is. It will go by fast. So the first part of the season is the Lane/DePaul Prep Battle of the Bridge. The Rams will face Vocational, Niles North then probably Notre Dame. I hope to get out to St. Viator to see those Lions take on Evanston.